The Face in the Fog
by MLaw
Summary: While on a routine courier drop Illya runs into a little trouble. Inspired by Dennis Hopper's foggy photo of David McCallum. A story told in drabbles. pre-saga series
1. Chapter 1

Illya Kuryakin walked down the narrow street lit by a single lamp post. He stood, clothed in his usual black, arms crossed in front of himself as he waited in the mist for his contact. He regretted not wearing his coat to ward off the the dampness, but there was no time to retrieve it when word came.

A steady click of footsteps on the cobblestone street neared, still hidden...

"_You?_" He hissed as the face in the fog appeared.

"Yes, it's me," she said, raising her hand holding a silver pistol, putting gentle pressure on the trigger and firing.


	2. Chapter 2

Illya woke in darkness, surrounded by the sound of the steady dripping of water, with smells of mold and mildew.

She'd finally caught up with him, and supposedly would follow through on her threat to get even with him for ruining her plans. He felt no pain other than a mild headache and assumed he'd been hit with a sleep dart.

The door to his prison opened with a long creak.

"Kuryakin," she whispered softly.

"_So you have not forgotten my name, given your advanced years."_

"_Old_? I don't look old do I?"

His lie unnerved like a charm. "Sigh"


	3. Chapter 3

Illya held up his hand, protecting his eyes from the light that silhouetted her figure, recognizing her voice and not needing to see her face.

"So where is that pompous partner of yours?"

"_How should I know, he is a big boy and able to take care of himself."_

Her laughter filled the air. "I hardly think so, where one is, the other is not far."

"_Well that is for me to know and for you to find out then," Illya said defiantly._

"Oh I will. " She chuckled again as she locked the door, returning him to complete darkness.

"_Chyort."_


	4. Chapter 4

Napoleon Solo was worried as he waited for his partner a block away at their appointed meeting place. He wanted to go along, but Illya insisted he wait at the bistro.

"_It is a milk run, why should both of us be out on a damp, foggy night?_"

That was more than an hour ago; he should have been here.

Solo put on his trench coat, heading out into the night in search of the wayward Russian. It was not like his friend to delay coming back unless he'd run into trouble, which was more often the case than not.


	5. Chapter 5

Illya felt his way around in the darkness trying to get a sense of things. The damp cell wasn't much larger than a walk-in closet, finding nothing but a wooden crate in a corner.

He had no plans on staying and made his way to the door. Feeling around in his mouth; he dislodged the wire loc pic he kept hidden there on occasion and moving his fingers carefully; he manipulated the wire until the lock went click.

The door was opened carefully to make his way along the tunnel.

"Going somewhere?" She jabbed him suddenly with her stiletto.


	6. Chapter 6

Illya staggered against the wall, glaring at her as he put his hand to his side, and came away with blood on it.

"_You stabbed me? Was that really necessary?"_

"Shut your mouth. You're lucky I didn't drive the blade in deeper Kuryakin."

He glanced at her grasp on the the knife, remembering her narcissistic vanity. "_You know they make creams that will fade those age spots." _

She looked down, touching the back of her hand with concern. "Age spots?"

"_Yes, you really should do something about them, as they give the impression you are much older than you are."_


	7. Chapter 7

Confident his words had preyed on the vanity of his captor enough to distract her; he was about to overpower her when she pulled a gun on him.

"Back to your cell, and I want no more comments from you on how I look. I'll not stand for it. Now put your hands on your head where I can see them."

She pushed him along with the gun against his back, and after shoving him inside, she wrapped a heavy chain around the door handle, padlocking it tight.

"_Do not forget about those creams,_" Illya called out with a snicker.


	8. Chapter 8

The fog was beginning to lift as Napoleon walked up and down the street in search of his partner, when he stumbled upon his only clue, a card with an address lying on the ground beneath a lamp-post.

It was not far and considered taking the chance. The location was in one of the dining areas in this Parisian _arrondissement._ His instincts told him it was a trap, but this card was all he had to go on as he walked to the next block over, cutting through a dimly lit alleyway.

"Hope you're all right buddy boy?"


	9. Chapter 9

Illya shielded his eyes again when the door barely opened. There was laughter, just as he heard the buzzing sound. She'd released an angry swarm of bees into his cell.

He dove down, pulling his suit jacket over his head, yelping as they began to attack his exposed skin.

"Only the beginning, wait until your partner shows up. I left him a little calling card and I know he'll take the bait."

At last there was silence. Illya remembered only female honeybees died after stinging and luckily he wasn't allergic to them, but the numerous burning welts hurt like hell.


	10. Chapter 10

Napoleon arrived at the address; it was a decrepit building with its door boarded over. Tacked to the wood was an envelope bearing his name, Inside, a slip of paper with a riddle written on it.

"_What was lost will be found,_

_one just has to look around._

_Let your nose follow the scent,_

_to find just where the Russian went."_

He had no clue what that meant. Napoleon sniffed the air, smelling the strong odor of garlic and onions. "Follow your nose," he repeated. It lead him to a small store front _creperie_ where another cryptic message awaited him inside.


	11. Chapter 11

Illya presumed he wasn't allergic as he'd been stung by bees before, but the venom that penetrated his skin caused him to itch, with an increasingly rapid pulse. His headache worsened, then came vertigo. Nausea set in followed by vomiting.

His retching subsided and he remained conscious. That was a good sign.

The door opened wide this time, and something else was tossed in, then again he was returned to darkness.

His senses were tingling while listening for the barest of sounds. He felt it, cold and icy, slithering across the back of his hand.

"_Chto za huy_what the fu.._?"


	12. Chapter 12

"_Monsieur Solo_?"

"Oui?"

"_Pour vous."_ One of them held another envelope.

"_Merci." _Solo snatched it, quickly tearing it open.

"_Go to the water,_

_where the men stand tall_

_Fishing around, but_

_don't slip and fall."_

"Crap." It had to be the _Seine? _Where? It was a long river...

He returned to the taxi, asking if there was a favorite fishing spot nearby.

"_Oui, _ _Pont d'Iena_ right here.

The fishermen were gone, but the driver pointed him to a dark arched opening at the esplanade below the bridge.

Napoleon turned, growling with frustration. A wild goose chase?


	13. Chapter 13

Illya had no idea what sort of snake it was, and taking no chance; he stood atop the small crate, hoping the reptile was not a climber, following him there.

His dizziness was not helping, and now he was trapped, stuck on the confined space trying to steady himself.

It seemed as though hours had passed, he was growing tired and found himself nodding off, then jerking to attention before he'd fall to the floor.

He could hear movement in the darkness, periodically there was a hiss, sometimes close to him, other times across the small room.


	14. Chapter 14

Napoleon walked along the empty esplanade, entering the archway, using a small flashlight searching for his next clue. He found it, a card laying on the damp cobblestones beneath his feet.

An address again. Sighing his relief that it was not another poorly written riddle. This time he was directed to _Ile de la Cité_, the oldest section of the Paris, fifteen minutes away by car.

The taxi took him across the _Pont des Invalides_ to the right bank, down to the _Quai de la Mégisserie_, crossing the Seine again at the _Pont Notre Dame_, delivering him to the address.


	15. Chapter 15

More riddles, more stops as the sun rose into a cloudless sky. Solo arrived at his next destination, an entrance to a dimly lit tunnel. He entered, weapon drawn. Senses heightened as he knew this was the trap, yet he had to try to rescue his best friend.

"So you finally made it,"Astarte Lovely spoke quietly from the shadows.

Napoleon shook his head; this was not who he expected.

"Where's my partner?"

"You'll be reunited with the insufferable Russian very soon. He'll pay for taking _Eric _from me, and you'll pay for ruining my plans with the _Antikythera_."*

.

* ref. "_The Summit Affai_r and "_The Atlantean Affair"_ respectively.


	16. Chapter 16

Napoleon Solo lifted his chin, groggy from the sleep dart, feeling a knife blade touching deftly against his face.

"Making you nervous?" She asked, staring at him with her golden eyes, though her hair was darker now.

"No just reminded me I need a shave..."

She pricked his cheek, eliciting a hiss from the American.

"Not so smart now are you? Only a matter of time before I exact my revenge against you both."

"Always the revenge, can't let it go. Start over...go straight this time."

She laughed at that. "What, and dishonor Aunt Edith and Uncle Emory's memory?"


	17. Chapter 17

You're _beautiful,_ can't you find a better method than violence to make your way in the world? Revenge doesn't become you." Napoleon hedged, hoping to deter her plans.

"...you think me _beautiful_?"

"_One tear of thy sorrow- one smile of thy love, shall turn me or fix-shall reward or reprove-And the heartless may wonder at all I resign, Thy lips shall reply not to them, but to mine."_

"Ah, _Byron._" She leaned down, pressing her lips against his as he responded.

"My hands could be better served if they were free."


	18. Chapter 18

She laughed aloud, pulling back from him. "You spurned me when last we met in _Santorini,_ you think I'm going to believe you want me now?"

"It was worth a try."

"Slap!" She backhanded him, hard.

"Ow, that wasn't _nice_."

"Get up Solo!" She pointed her silver pistol, motioning him down the hall to the chained door. Unlocking it; she then shoved him in with his partner. "Here's your friend. Reacquaint

yourselves quickly as soon you'll both be dead."

Astarte laughed, slamming and locking the door.

"_Look out Napoleon!"_ An exhausted Illya called, " _There is a snake on the floor!_"


	19. Chapter 19

"_Here! Follow my voice, I am standing on a wooden crate."_

A sharp rattle came from Solo's right. Slowly pulling off his coat; he tossed it over the snake before it could strike, stamping with his foot until the noise ceased.

"More?"

"_I do not think so._"

He could hear a loud sigh, then a thud. "Illya where are you?"

"_Down here_," he answered.

Napoleon felt his way along the floor until he reached him. "You okay?"

"_I have been better._"

"Let's get out of here."

"_The door is chained_," Illya said unhappily.

"Ah, but the hinges are rusted."


	20. Chapter 20

Together they attacked the door, slamming their shoulders until the hinges gave way.

Solo grabbed his partner, supporting him as his strength had ebbed from their efforts.

They nearly reached the end of the tunnel when a shot ricocheted above their heads.

Napoleon turned, still holding Illya up as they now faced Astarte.

"You are fools," she snarled at them.

Illya dove, grabbing her weapon, with a shot fired as the they fell to the floor.

He rose slowly, the smoking gun in his hand. "_I warned her I had no compunction against killing a woman." *_

"Let's go home chum."


	21. Chapter 21

Limping down the damp tunnel, Illya seemed to be stronger, picking up his pace, going ahead of his partner as if he needed the light.

Kuryakin had no reservations about killing Astarte Lovely, yet Napoleon knew it troubled the Russian. Taking a life, though sometimes necessary, was always difficult.

He let him continue on ahead, leaving Illya to his thoughts for a bit, but finally spoke up.

"You okay _tovarisch_?"

"_Fine._"

That answer told Solo he was not, but there was nothing he could offer to give solace, deciding it best to leave him be.

"I understand."

"_I know." _Illya whispered.

.

Note: Eric Lerhner debuted in the "East Berlin Affair" and was a rival from Illya's training days at Survival Survival School, mentioned briefly in "The Last Goodbye." He has prominent parts in "The East Berlin Affair" and "The Summit Affair." Astarte Lovely was introduced in "The Atlantean Affair"


End file.
